The Jacqueline Cochran Regional Airport Authority is losing at least two of its seven members who argue that the authority is not worth the taxpayer-funded annual dues the participating cities pay each year.

The authority is currently reviewing its bylaws, budget and mission to determine how to effectively move forward amid a shrinking board.

Indian Wells City Council approved submission of a 90-day written notice of intent to withdraw from the airport authority during their June 14 meeting. The Four Winds Coalition, which represents the local participating tribes, has also expressed their intent to withdraw. Likewise, the city of Palm Desert removed the annual airport authority dues from their budget while staff and council discuss the matter before making moves to stay or leave.

“The (JCRA) authority is unable to articulate its purpose in a concise manner,” detailed an Indian Wells city staff report. “The authority seems to primarily exist to provide a funding mechanism for the annual airshow. The airshow is an opportunity to showcase the Airport facilities and provide local entertainment. The event attendance has not grown."

Indian Wells Councilman Dana Reed, who represented the city on the authority, said because the airport authority is a public entity the city shouldn't have to pay $12,500 to find out how the authority is operating.

The authority was formed in 1994 as the Coachella Valley Regional Airport Authority with an intent to serve as the planning authority for the airport, replacing the county planning commission from their duties. In 1999, the authority was renamed the Desert Resorts Regional Airport Authority but continued as a planning authority.

In 2012, the authority was renamed once again to become what it is known as today, the Jacqueline Cochran Regional Airport Authority. With that transition, the planning duties were returned to the county. The airport has mostly serviced small private jets and charter flights while the authority is tasked with marketing its services.

Vincent Yzaguirre, Riverside County Economic Development Agency assistant director, who oversees the Aviation Division, said the authority “has always served much like an advisory committee and has played a pivotal role in helping promote the airport and the JCRA Airshow.”

Yzaguirre said the authority currently has voting powers and oversees action items that relate to the current agreement and budget, but “now that (authority members) are pursuing withdrawal, an advisory/informational committee may be the effective option for pursuing community participation.”

Councilman Reed argued that while the authority does have voting powers, they have never voted on anything of substance. He said the authority is already running as purely an informational committee. He said if participating cities are paying annual dues then they should actually vote on action items pertaining to the airport.

In the past year, the authority has held six meetings. The action items, as reflected in the meeting minutes, were mostly approving prior meeting minutes, future meeting dates and locations. At the end of the budget cycle in June, the authority voted to transfer the authority funds to the general aviation administration fund. Reed said this is the first time the authority was given the chance to vote on the transfer of funds. He alleges that previously the funds were transferred without the authority's consent.

Reed said the authority was essentially just a funding mechanism for the JCRA airshow that occurs every other year, and he argued that wasn’t a responsible use of taxpayer funds.

The 2018 biennial airshow cost just over $250,000 to host. The authority membership dues make up $175,000 of the authority’s biennial budget and at the end of each year, the authority funds that aren’t spent on authority operations are transferred to the airshow budget. The 2017/2018 budget shows the authority spent $8,000 on operations, including insurance fees, legal fees and membership stipends – board members are paid $50 per meeting. The remaining funds were transferred to the airport’s general fund.

When asked what the authority membership fees are spent on, Elaine Holmes, JCRA authority chairperson and Indio representative, said the authority is currently reviewing the dollars, but believes some money went to the airshow and marketing. As chairperson, Holmes is responsible for signing the budget.

When pushed further, Holmes said “the funds by and large have been spent on the airshow.”

She said she isn’t sure if the loss of membership fees will impact the airshow budget, but believes the airshow would continue to move forward nonetheless.

Holmes said the airport authority is at a pivotal moment of change and all cities should be at the table to discuss the joint powers agreement as opposed to dropping out.

“We want to create an authority that will be more involved and engaged,” Holmes said. “I would encourage and welcome all of the cities that have been involved in the airport to please continue to be involved in the airport.”

Manuel Perez, Riverside County Supervisor for the 4th District, said he, too, was questioning what it means to be an authority. The minute meetings reflect that Perez, who sits on the board to represent the county, constantly pushed for answers and wanted to know what the membership fees were used for.

While Holmes said she wants an authority that is more engaged, Perez said he believes it would be more fruitful if the authority was just an informational committee. He said he has no opinions about membership dues, but said if the fees were abolished then he believes the airport would find new ways to fund the airshow, such as private sponsors.

“Quite frankly we just want to make sure cities are aware of what’s going on so they can promote and market the airport,” Perez said. “What is more important than the airshow is that we want to create jobs and create an economic impact. We want to eventually perhaps become a customs airport, a future commercial airport since we are in the free-trade zone, a place to transfer our agricultural product throughout the region.”

But until there are changes and clear definitions of authority powers and how funds will be spent, cities are wary of contributing even more taxpayer dollars to the cause.

Palm Desert Councilwoman Jan Harnik, who sits on the authority, said the city of Palm Desert has removed the airport authority membership fee from the city’s budget and is currently researching what formal action needs to take place for the city to leave the joint powers authority. She said she expects the topic to appear on a future city council agenda.

“Basically, all we did was listen to decisions that have already been made," Harnik said. "The power of the authority has diminished throughout the years.”

Harnik said the Palm Desert City Council was concerned about how the authority membership fees were being spent.

“That’s part of what we didn’t feel good about,” Harnik said. “While we recognize how important the airport is for the vision and future of our entire region, if a taxpayer asked why we are giving to the airport and where does the money go, we didn’t have a good answer for that.”

However, Harnik said she would like to leave the door open for future communications and would appreciate the opportunity to continue to participate in the authority if it benefitted all parties.

Officials from the city of La Quinta said as of now they will remain part of the airport authority. La Quinta is waiting to see what happens at the next airport authority meeting to see if any changes are made before making a decision in regard to their authority membership, said Marcie Graham, La Quinta spokeswoman.

The city of Coachella is also a member of the authority but not did respond to requests for comment.

Desert Sun reporter Nicole Hayden covers the cities of La Quinta, Indian Wells, Rancho Mirage and Palm Desert. She can be reached at Nicole.Hayden@desertsun.com or (760) 778-4623. Follow her on Twitter @Nicole_A_Hayden.